Vicious Whispers with Mark Tullius

In celebration of Brightside hitting the top 10 in several Amazon categories, I read some of the earliest reviews: good, okay, and awful.

13:00 I read the first chapter from Try Not to Die: In Brightside and talk a little about the contest we're running in January. Be sure to listen to next episode to find out what the first correct answer is to give you a leg up on the competition.

27:40 The Christmas horror story "Surviving the Holidays."

In this episode I go over:

My family's Thanksgiving vacation in Vegas.

The small reunion I had with football teammates in Scottsdale AZ to say farewell to a good friend who's losing his valiant battle against cancer.

A visit to an escape room in LA where the boys went head to head against the girls.

More Try Not to Die books in the works along with the creation of a Try Not to Die mobile escape room we plan on launching in the LA area in 2020.

And the short horror story "When it Rains."

A little about all the different hats one needs to wear as an independent author and how I manage that stress.

Recap of Halloween.

About two weeks ago I asked Walter Salcido, the host of Fighter's Planet Podcast if he'd like to co-author a novella in my Try Not to Die series. He had an idea of what he might want to write about but during this podcast we changed the subject matter and completely plotted out his book, Try Not to Die: In Watts.

Of course, much of what we plotted out might change, but it was fun to see an entire story being developed in an hour.

At the end of the episode you can listen to the short horror story "Shades of Death" (1:07:50)

In this episode I discuss:

My problems with consistency and priorities.

Putting the writing of my traumatic brain injury nonfiction book on pause.

Accepting that all my head trauma has left me with an injured and underfunctioning brain.

Why I've been doing the Wim Hoff 10-day course on the Commune app.

That I just completed Act 1 of the second book in the Tales of the Blessed and Broken series.

I just added two more co-authors to the Try Not to Die series and will put out an episode next week developing one of those books.

Also includes the short horror story "Glory" (14:40)

Just got my Ain't No Messiah t-shirt in time for the High Desert Book Festival Oct 12.

In what might be my most positive episode yet, I discuss taking a break from my traumatic brain injury nonfiction book so I can get creative. I’m enjoying working on Book 2 in the Tales of the Blessed and Broken series and readying Untold Mayhem for print.

I’m excited that one of my favorite singers from a metal band just said he’d be delighted to co-author a Try Not to Die with me.

I go over the book Head Games by Chris Nowinski and how it convinced me to donate my brain to his organization.

An update on where I am with my NUCCA treatment and neurofeedback which I do at Vital Head and Spine in Pasadena.

Why I plan on visiting the Amen Clinic to do a different type of brain scan. Also ties to why I’m really cutting down on cannabis use.

Reading How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan is having me look forward to researching psychedelics.

Beginning to exercise with the family at home, holding mitts so they can punch and kick me.

Redefining my goal to become successful and why I’m about to hire a marketing company to help.

My short horror story “Group Session” (16:55)

In this episode I share about my search for the right agent, what I’m currently doing for my brain, and the nonfiction reading list for my brain research.

Joining me on this episode is my friend Luis Vega, an artist and a teacher from Lynwood High School. He created the cover of my collection Somber Stroll and one of his students created an illustration published in Twisted Reunion.

We discuss how Luis discovered art, how he teaches the process of creating art, and the messages Luis tries to pass on to his students. We also decide to run another contest so his students can publish an illustration for my upcoming collection Untold Mayhem.

37:00 My short story "Book of Revelation"

For more on Luis check out www.vegaluis.com